publicity, and voting
Nov. 4th, 2002 11:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mamajoanThe Boston Globe did a front-page article about yesterday's anti-war rally! Yay! Read it here.
I was going to do a lengthy rant about people who don't vote, but I'll nutshell it for ya:
Assuming that you are 18+ and able-bodied and of sound mind, there is no excuse for not voting.
1. No, I'm sorry, "I was too busy/I forgot" does not qualify. The polls open at 7am and close at 8pm. You can get up a little early or get home a little late. You can find someone to watch the kids for fifteen minutes, or better yet, take the kids to the polling place so they can see the democratic process in action. Or, if you REALLY are too busy, you can simply call your local voting office and arrange to come in and vote early (although, by now it's probably a bit late for that).
2. No, I'm sorry, "there aren't any candidates I like" is also not an acceptable excuse. Go to the polls anyway and write in Mickey Mouse or Elvis or just "none of the above" on all the ballots. That counts as a vote. Simply staying home does not qualify as a protest against the system, because it's indistinguishable from being a lazy irresponsible jerk. The pollsters do not say "well, 30% of registered voters voted, 30% refused to vote as a protest, and the other 40% are just forgetful morons." Do you really want to be lumped in with the apathetic and the forgetful and the lazy?
3. No, I'm sorry, "I don't know enough about the candidates/issues" also doesn't cut it. Depending on how much of a responsible citizen you want to be, you can: a) vote for the offices you do know a little about, b) just vote the party line, c) do a little research, d) do a lot of research. These days everything is on the Internet, and it's trivially easy to find out who's running for what in your area and what they claim to stand for. Another great way to stay informed is to find an organization in your area that stands for the stuff you believe in -- the ACLU, the HRC, Planned Parenthood, the NRA, what have you -- and check their website. They will usually tell you whom the group endorses.
As for the issues, you don't have to be extremely well-informed to know how you feel about big things like taxes, education, health care, etc., do you? No. I bet you already know what your opinions are on those things. If you can't be bothered, or don't have time, to research the ballot questions in your area, just read them in the voting booth and go with your gut feeling.
To sum up: VOTE. You have to do it. It is not a right, it is not a privilege; it is a responsibility.
EDIT: If you don't know who your Senators and Representatives are, you can find this out at congress.org. You just enter your address and it will tell you the names of all your elected officials, as well as which district you're in. You can then use this info to find out who the other candidates are.
For those living in Massachusetts, here's how I recommend voting:
Question 1 -- Vote No. We don't want to eliminate the state income tax. You like knowing that a fire truck will come to your house if it catches fire and a cop will come if someone breaks in, right? Eliminating the income tax may put a little more money back in your pocket, but it won't be worth all the important services we will lose.
Question 2 -- Vote No. The question of English immersion is a controversial one, but this bill is VERY poorly written even if you *do* believe in immersion. This bill would allow an individual teacher to be sued for using too much of a non-English language in a classroom. We don't want teachers to be worrying about lawsuits; we want them to concentrate on teaching kids. Also, one year is not enough for a kid to learn English completely, as the California immersion programs have shown.
Question 3 -- Vote Yes. Save Clean Elections! A yes vote says that you support the idea of political campaigns being funded by tax money rather than by big businesses. If you want viable candidates who are *not* in the pockets of huge corporations, vote yes.
Governor -- This is a very tough one. Personally, I have decided to vote for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. I think Jill is a fabulous candidate: intelligent, eloquent, knowledgeable about the issues, and holding what I consider the correct opinions on all the important issues. I realize there is some fear that voting for her will help Mitt Romney, but I have decided that I have to vote for Jill anyway. Email me if you want the long-winded explanation.
Senator -- John Kerry voted FOR bombing Iraq in Dubya's Senate vote a couple of weeks ago. If you're angry at Kerry for this, you can participate in a write-in campaign. The candidate is Randall Forsberg, a woman, and her website is www.forsbergforsenate.org. To write-in Randy, you need to: a) Find the space labeled "Write In Only" underneath the names of Sen. Kerry and Michael Cloud (liberatarian), and in that space, write: "RANDALL FORSBERG, 950 Mass. Ave., Cambridge." b) If there is an oval to the right of the write-in space, fill it in.
Representative -- If you live in the Seventh District, Edward Markey is your representative. He also voted for bombing Iraq. Like with Kerry, there is a write-in campaign to oppose Markey. The candidate is Daniel Melnechuk. To write-in, you need to: a) Find the write-in space under Markey's name and write "DANIEL MELNECHUK, 100 Hardy Pond Road, Waltham." b) If there is an oval, fill it in.
Note on the write-in campaigns: a) Both Forsberg and Melnechuk are registered as write-in candidates, which means that votes for them will be counted as votes for them. Non-registered write-in candidates are just lumped together as "other." b) Neither of these write-in candidates actually expects to win. The point is to send a message to Kerry and Markey, reminding them that they have a large anti-war constituency and that they are supposed to represent us.
State Representative -- If you are in Jarrett Barrios's district, which spans Middlesex, Suffolk, and Essex counties, vote for him. I know him personally and he's a great guy. He's also Cuban and gay, and you want more minorities in our government, don't you?
That's all I have right now, but if you have other specific questions about voting in MA, feel free to ask.
Also, if you're in California, you might want to check out![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tiggrrl who has posted several nice long posts recently about the various candidates and ballot questions.
End public service announcement.
I was going to do a lengthy rant about people who don't vote, but I'll nutshell it for ya:
Assuming that you are 18+ and able-bodied and of sound mind, there is no excuse for not voting.
1. No, I'm sorry, "I was too busy/I forgot" does not qualify. The polls open at 7am and close at 8pm. You can get up a little early or get home a little late. You can find someone to watch the kids for fifteen minutes, or better yet, take the kids to the polling place so they can see the democratic process in action. Or, if you REALLY are too busy, you can simply call your local voting office and arrange to come in and vote early (although, by now it's probably a bit late for that).
2. No, I'm sorry, "there aren't any candidates I like" is also not an acceptable excuse. Go to the polls anyway and write in Mickey Mouse or Elvis or just "none of the above" on all the ballots. That counts as a vote. Simply staying home does not qualify as a protest against the system, because it's indistinguishable from being a lazy irresponsible jerk. The pollsters do not say "well, 30% of registered voters voted, 30% refused to vote as a protest, and the other 40% are just forgetful morons." Do you really want to be lumped in with the apathetic and the forgetful and the lazy?
3. No, I'm sorry, "I don't know enough about the candidates/issues" also doesn't cut it. Depending on how much of a responsible citizen you want to be, you can: a) vote for the offices you do know a little about, b) just vote the party line, c) do a little research, d) do a lot of research. These days everything is on the Internet, and it's trivially easy to find out who's running for what in your area and what they claim to stand for. Another great way to stay informed is to find an organization in your area that stands for the stuff you believe in -- the ACLU, the HRC, Planned Parenthood, the NRA, what have you -- and check their website. They will usually tell you whom the group endorses.
As for the issues, you don't have to be extremely well-informed to know how you feel about big things like taxes, education, health care, etc., do you? No. I bet you already know what your opinions are on those things. If you can't be bothered, or don't have time, to research the ballot questions in your area, just read them in the voting booth and go with your gut feeling.
To sum up: VOTE. You have to do it. It is not a right, it is not a privilege; it is a responsibility.
EDIT: If you don't know who your Senators and Representatives are, you can find this out at congress.org. You just enter your address and it will tell you the names of all your elected officials, as well as which district you're in. You can then use this info to find out who the other candidates are.
For those living in Massachusetts, here's how I recommend voting:
Question 1 -- Vote No. We don't want to eliminate the state income tax. You like knowing that a fire truck will come to your house if it catches fire and a cop will come if someone breaks in, right? Eliminating the income tax may put a little more money back in your pocket, but it won't be worth all the important services we will lose.
Question 2 -- Vote No. The question of English immersion is a controversial one, but this bill is VERY poorly written even if you *do* believe in immersion. This bill would allow an individual teacher to be sued for using too much of a non-English language in a classroom. We don't want teachers to be worrying about lawsuits; we want them to concentrate on teaching kids. Also, one year is not enough for a kid to learn English completely, as the California immersion programs have shown.
Question 3 -- Vote Yes. Save Clean Elections! A yes vote says that you support the idea of political campaigns being funded by tax money rather than by big businesses. If you want viable candidates who are *not* in the pockets of huge corporations, vote yes.
Governor -- This is a very tough one. Personally, I have decided to vote for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate. I think Jill is a fabulous candidate: intelligent, eloquent, knowledgeable about the issues, and holding what I consider the correct opinions on all the important issues. I realize there is some fear that voting for her will help Mitt Romney, but I have decided that I have to vote for Jill anyway. Email me if you want the long-winded explanation.
Senator -- John Kerry voted FOR bombing Iraq in Dubya's Senate vote a couple of weeks ago. If you're angry at Kerry for this, you can participate in a write-in campaign. The candidate is Randall Forsberg, a woman, and her website is www.forsbergforsenate.org. To write-in Randy, you need to: a) Find the space labeled "Write In Only" underneath the names of Sen. Kerry and Michael Cloud (liberatarian), and in that space, write: "RANDALL FORSBERG, 950 Mass. Ave., Cambridge." b) If there is an oval to the right of the write-in space, fill it in.
Representative -- If you live in the Seventh District, Edward Markey is your representative. He also voted for bombing Iraq. Like with Kerry, there is a write-in campaign to oppose Markey. The candidate is Daniel Melnechuk. To write-in, you need to: a) Find the write-in space under Markey's name and write "DANIEL MELNECHUK, 100 Hardy Pond Road, Waltham." b) If there is an oval, fill it in.
Note on the write-in campaigns: a) Both Forsberg and Melnechuk are registered as write-in candidates, which means that votes for them will be counted as votes for them. Non-registered write-in candidates are just lumped together as "other." b) Neither of these write-in candidates actually expects to win. The point is to send a message to Kerry and Markey, reminding them that they have a large anti-war constituency and that they are supposed to represent us.
State Representative -- If you are in Jarrett Barrios's district, which spans Middlesex, Suffolk, and Essex counties, vote for him. I know him personally and he's a great guy. He's also Cuban and gay, and you want more minorities in our government, don't you?
That's all I have right now, but if you have other specific questions about voting in MA, feel free to ask.
Also, if you're in California, you might want to check out
tiggrrl who has posted several nice long posts recently about the various candidates and ballot questions.End public service announcement.
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no subject
Date: 2002-11-04 08:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-11-04 08:26 am (UTC)Early voting
Date: 2002-11-04 09:44 am (UTC)Me? I saved newspaper clippings and a sample ballot for review this past weekend, which I did, and I'm taking my sample ballot to my polling place (conveniently within walking distance of my apartment) tomorrow morning.
I'll admit, I'm not one to turn out for primaries too often, but you can count on me in November. I totally agree about it being a responsibility, and about not voting for every single office if you don't have a preference. I've left some blank before.
Excellent post, Joan! I hope everyone who reads it is motivated, if they weren't already.
no subject
Date: 2002-11-04 11:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-11-05 05:50 am (UTC)